February 2016

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 11, 2016 — Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics is offering a free online course on how to run an ethical political campaign. The short, self-paced Campaign Ethics MOOC begins Monday February 15, 2016 and can be taken through June 18, 2016.

 “Campaign vitriol and dirty tricks have a direct impact on the public’s trust in government and resultant civic disengagement. Most candidates want to be ethical, but in the heat of the battle it is easy for ethical lapses to occur,” said Hana Callaghan, lead instructor of the Campaign Ethics MOOC and director of government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.

“This course is designed to provide a framework for ethical decision making and tools to build an ethical campaign organization. Participants will learn that ethical campaigning is not only good for democracy, it will help a candidate win.”

The MOOC is for anyone involved in politics including candidates, campaign staff, political consultants, and even campaign volunteers. However, anyone interested in registering may do so freely. Topics covered include: how to win when you run an ethical campaign, crafting the message, and managing donor expectations. 

Modules contain a brief lecture, an interview with a political expert, and a short interactive case study that allows individuals to weigh in on whether a given decision is ethical or unethical. 

Special guest instructors are:

• Tom Campbell, dean of Chapman University School of Law and former five-term Republican United States Congressman from California's 12th and 15th districts. He also served as a member of the California State Senate.
• Anna Eshoo, U.S. Representative for California's 18th Congressional District, serving in Congress since 1993.
• Steve Glazer, California State Senator representing the 7th District. Prior to being elected to the Senate, he was the mayor of Orinda, and campaign manager for California Governor Jerry Brown.
• Kirk Hanson, executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
• Joe Simitian, Santa Clara County Supervisor, has served at almost every level of government including school board, city council, and California State Assembly and Senate.
• Joann Speers, professor at the University of San Francisco and the former executive director of the Institute for Local Government.
• Richard Temple, co-founder of political consulting firm McNally Temple Associates, Inc.

Registration is open to the public. For more information, click here

About the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
As an ethics center at a university, the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics engages students of all ages in addressing the choices that shape their personal character, inspire trust, and lead to lives of value. In our focus areas—bioethics, business ethics, campus ethics, character education, government ethics, Internet ethics, leadership ethics, and nonprofit ethics—we work with scholars and professionals to apply ethical ideas to the very real problems people encounter. We examine the obstacles to ethical action in many areas and develop tools to help people perform at their best.

About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, theology, and engineering, plus master’s and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.

Media Contact
Tina Vossugh| tvossugh@scu.edu | (408) 829-4836